Salt, by Colin Barnes

In 2014 humanity didn’t stand a chance. A series of fatal climatic disasters struck, entirely drowning the planet. Now, just one hundred and twenty-five souls remain, surviving on a flotilla of damaged ships. But their survival isn’t guaranteed. Facing severe threats to their numbers by a fatal bacterium and increasingly warring factions, they discover a serial killer within their midst. When the murderer targets Eva Morgan’s friend, her investigations draw her into a deadly mystery and a race against time before the killer’s actions destroy the fragile existence on the flotilla. The further she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the truth becomes a pawn in a game for ultimate survival.

I’ll admit it: when I saw Salt on Netgalley, the cover drew me in. I love post-apocalyptic, so the book synopsis sealed the deal. I read at night, so if the story is slow, I find myself having difficulties concentrating as sleep grips me. Salt does have a lot of backstory and exposition. It’s not intrusive, but it did take me longer to read it than I expected.

I’m also not a fan of murder mysteries, but I still enjoyed Salt. I did find one of the protagonists to be a little clichéd, but the character almost had to be that cliché to move the story forward.

I’d definitely read more Colin Barnes if given the opportunity, and his two series “The Techxorcist” and “Critical” look very interesting. Although Salt isn’t listed as part of a series, I can see a sequel for it. The ending resolved Salt in such a way that didn’t make me feel cheated, and set up a sequel nicely. Salt is an easy four stars, and I recommend it to any post-apocalyptic fans that are tired of zombies.

Colin F. Barnes is a publisher and full-time writer of cyberpunk and thriller novels. He’s a member of both the British Fantasy Society and the British Science Fiction Association. He honed his craft with the London School of Journalism and the Open University (BA, English). Colin has run a number of tech-based businesses, worked in rat-infested workshops, and scoured the back streets of London looking for characters and stories.

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About Mark Gardner

Mark Gardner lives in northern Arizona with his wife, three children and a pair of spoiled dogs. Mark holds a degrees in Computer Systems and Applications and Applied Human Behavior.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015 at 10:07 and tagged with book reviews and posted in Reviews & Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.